Goodness! Can these little lovelies be any cuter?

These are absolutely lovely, the colors are so vibrant and I love, love, love that you can so clearly see the personality in each puppet.

Here’s a bit about the company and their philosophy:

Responsibility

The Cate & Levi Collection is H A N DMA D E at my studio in Toronto, Canada. Together with my talented production team, I oversee every aspect of this collection. All the materials are sourced as close to home as possible. This process cuts down on shipping and reduces our carbon footprint. The choice of reclaimed wool reduces demand for new materials that require both water and oil for production. My goal is for these items to leave the softest possible pawprint on our planet.

One Of A Kind

No two Cate & Levi products will ever be the same. Each one is made from reclaimed wool whose colors and textures are individually selected. Not only is this process environmentally responsible, but it ensures that each animal is truly a one of a kind creation never to be duplicated. Each item is as unique as the child who adopts it.

Thursdays are a time to bring your giggle on, here on Sugarsticks Parties’ blog. Giggle Thursdays feature parties and/ or children and party products with just the right pinch of childhood whimsy. Sugarsticks Parties does not accept fees or compensation for these features; the parties and products featured are chosen by Ivona purely on their “giggle” value.

I knew I was selected to be a member of The Twinery’s Design Team for 2011 long before I received the twine in my mailbox, but that still didn’t stop me from clapping my hands in a fit of giggles when I saw all the beautiful colors.

I have always been partial to the Carribbean, but I have to say all the colors looks so vivid and alive. Pictures don’t really do them justice.

As cheesy as it sounds, whenever I think of twine the “brown paper packages wrapped with string” line always comes to mind first.

And since we’re all in the holiday whirlwind right now, I decided to design folded gift tags that match the colors of your twine.

Each card features a snowflake design, a different snowflake for each color :)

I hope you enjoy these. If you decide to use them for your gift wrapping, please share your photos on the Facebook pages of Sugarsticks Parties and The Twinery :) We would love to see them.

You will need to save the .jpg file as a picture and then print. Different snowflake designs are positioned differently on the tags, so please use the cut lines as guides for cutting.

Enjoy!

Edit to add: Originally, my idea was to cut strips of vintage text to put across the middle or sides of the brown paper packages. The twine would then go across that strip of text paper.

I was hoping to find a sheet from Christmas Carol for this, but didn’t have time… well, Etsy to the rescue: the wonderful shop Optic Illusions carries altered vintage sheets of Christmas music, both popular and religious.

They would look great paired with brown paper and the colorful twine.

Right now, Optic Illusionsis having a Secret Santa Sale so you can get50% with the code CHRISTMAS.

:)

Recently, my sister in law opened an herbal remedies shoppe “Herbal Roots” in Blountstown, Fl. Once the shelves were in and products were starting to come in she asked me if I would pretty please help her decorate.

Because of the nature of the shoppe and the type of products she’s selling I knew immediately that I wanted to use as many natural elements as possible. To allow for practicality, I decided to use “clean” bases like hay and branch wreaths where we can easily replace the decor depending on the season.

COLORS

We knew we wanted to use fall colors, the rusty reds and browns, as well as orange. I wanted to use burlap, but we ended up finding this wonderful sandy brown decor fabric with the texture of raw silk in great-grandma’s shed. Once cut in 5” strips and frayed on the edges, it made for perfect bows. We used the same fabric for the shelving decor so the whole shoppe was tied together with the same colors.

Great- grandma’s shed was also hiding a rusty orange ribbon that you can see in the first image and the burgundy one, you can see in the image directly above. Just like that, we had our color scheme!

NATURAL LOOK

Since this is a shoppe, the ribbon and the gold and bronze touches provided for an upscale feel. The frayed fabric and the string helped make it look more natural. All elements of the wreaths were tied with string first, and then tied again to the wreath base so they can easily be removed. Pine cones were sprayed with a bronze spray.

What I love about using natural elements is that you can make it a fun day with the kids. Grab a basket and go on a walk, you’ll find pine cones, rocks, all sorts of weird branches, leaves and husks that you can use… as well as berries. Invest in some gloss spray to use on leaves, berriesand other more breakable materials. It will make them more durable.

For the other pretties, like the red husk flowers, the green pricklies and the bunches of wheat I took a trip to JoAnn’s. Red chilli peppers work great too, as well as strung garlic or husked corn.

For the door wreaths, I went a little smaller. We used the hay wreaths but I wrapped them in the same frayed fabric used for bows on the other wreaths. For contrast, I tied the bunches of wheat with green wraphia and then tied them again to the wreath.

When I first heard about the “Power of Mom” articles hosted by Sugarsticks Parties, I have to admit, I pictured a female caped crusader able to leap tall loads of laundry in a single bound. A woman faster than a speeding minivan and more powerful than a toddler’s tantrum, who disguised as a mild mannered PTA member, fights the unending battle for clean rooms, completed homework, and warm meals everyday!

Ha! Mom as Superhero? Yeah, right. Where’s the cape? The only thing I wear that can remotely be considered a cape is an apron flung to my back as I chase down a 15 month old spatula-stealer while trying to throw together a meal for a pack of ravenous wolves, sometimes known as my family. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that moms are pretty powerful individuals. We possess the power to influence our children, and more specifically, the power to influence how our children view us as women in the world.

Good Earth Fairy Doll from Little Speckled Frog

I have often worried that I might be sending the wrong message to my two daughters by choosing to be a stay at home mom. I feared that my girls might view the female gender as June Cleavers, expecting that they must spend their days creating spotless homes, perfectly cooked meals, and an always happy hubby (not that I am a role model for any of those things!). I worried that they would attend college looking for their MRS instead of a PHD. And while I hope with all my heart that my daughters one day will find a loving spouse and experience the joy of motherhood, I also hope that they are fulfilled as individuals. Be that a “real job” or not.

I first began to worry about this when my oldest daughter asked me why I didn’t go to work like Daddy. I told her that I did have a job downtown, but stopped working there so I could play with her everyday. That seemed to be an acceptable answer to a three year old, until a few months later when she told me she wanted to be a daddy and have a job when she grew up. Be a daddy, huh? Well my dear girl, that is going to be pretty hard to pull off! But that was my wake up call, telling me that I needed to explain to her that she, a girl, and possibly one day a mommy, was just as capable as any daddy of having a job, or anything else she wanted. Over the course of a few days, I began explaining to her what I do for work. I showed her how I am a housekeeper, laundress, chef, teacher, nurse, chauffeur, accountant, social director, as well as run an online business, all in the time it takes Daddy to do one job! But most importantly, I tried to explain to her that I chose to do these things. I could have had any profession I wanted to (well, okay, maybe not ANY profession – I would never have never made it as a super model – I’m way too skinny and beautiful!), but what I really wanted to do is just what I am doing now. Be a wife, mommy, friend, business owner, community volunteer, etc…

I truly believe that our power to influence our children’s perspective of us, and women in general, is to just be the very best women we can be. We need to follow our dreams, and share with our children the many things we are and have yet to be. Our children will see and realize that mommies and women are capable of so much. So my advice to you ladies is to be the SUPERMOM you are and turn that cooking apron around. It doubles as a fabulous cape!

Hello! My name is Marlo Fulton (aka Mama Frog). I am the owner and manager of Little Speckled Frog, an online children’s boutique that specializes in organic, natural, and eco-friendly products. Little Speckled Frog was created after the birth of my first child. Like most parents, I wanted the very best for my baby. For some, that means the fanciest crib, and most expensive stroller, but to me, it meant the happiest, healthiest, most natural childhood I could provide.

But, what baby products were the healthiest and most natural? To answer this question, I turned to the internet and did a lot of research to find companies that valued health and safety by using organic and eco-friendly materials in their children’s products. Most of what I found were small mom- or family-owned companies, and while their products were just what I was looking for, it was hard to find everything I needed in one place. And so Little Speckled Frog was created to provide a one-stop-shop for natural-minded parents. I like to say that Little Speckled Frog has “everything for your little ‘green’ one”!

Besides being a busy business woman, I am a wife to a very caring and patient husband, and mother to two sweet little girls who are my pride and joy! In my eyes, there is nothing better than being a parent and I am so thankful that Little Speckled Frog has afforded me the opportunity to stay at home and raise them the best way I know how! We happily reside in Tallahassee, Florida, and strive to make each day better and “greener” than the last.

I look forward to contributing to Sugarsticks Parties’ “Power of Mom” feature. Sugarsticks Parties’ whimsical celebration of all things fun is naturally appealing!

Until next time,

Mama Frog

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Marlo Fulton (aka Mama Frog) is the owner and manager of Little Speckled Frog, an online children’s boutique that specializes in organic, natural, and eco-friendly products.http://www.littlespeckledfrog.com/